Yet more proof that we’re living in the future. Talk To Me is a free translation app for Android that I highly recommend. You say a phrase in English and your phone repeats the phrase in the language of your choice. Sweet!
Hey, pickabar.com readers! Ok, reader. 
I wrote this song about two years ago. It was a single verse long and to be charitable, I was just starting to learn how to record. I had the song stuck in my head and finally decided to to have another crack at it last week. I’m definitely still a beginner in the world of recording, but I think this new version is light years ahead of my earlier effort.
James, from my old band BOTB, was kind enough to add some lead guitar in the right channel.
Enjoy!
We’re living in paper times with paper people walking around.
There’s nothing holding society up a strong wind will blow it down.
We’re dreaming bout the latest sitcoms hooked on cable news with nothing to say.
We’re playing our Playstations while they take our freedom away.
We’re living in paper times
With cable news radio and ink
We give lip service to everything,
but we never really stop to think
All the papers say the same thing and the tv only has one view
Right or left they never challenge the tricks the government pulls
The politicians are on corporate payrolls so you know that the game is rigged
The news is owned by huge corporations they’ll never challenge a thing
Chorus
What they’ve done to the American dream really is a crime
They’ve rigged the game against the working man we’re almost out of time
No one wants to see our nation die liberal or conservative
As long as we fight against each other they’re guaranteed to win
Chorus
Our countries is owned by corporations…
We’re living in paper times!
Our future is filled with degradation…
We’re living in paper times!
Profits will grow while we face starvation…
We’re living in paper times!
It’s time we rose up to save our nation…
We’re living in paper times!
Chorus
…or at least I finished the Eclipse and Java for Total Beginners lesson. I’m going to write some apps for my new Motorola Droid (*swoon*), so I figured it was best if I ran through something that would help me get comfortable with the new IDE and Java syntax. The tutorial was pretty slow for someone with decent OO programming skills, but I definitely feel much more comfortable with Eclipse after having worked through the tutorial. I’m especially fond of the integration of JUnit and the ease of TDD with Eclipse.
Expect my first Android app soon!
I’ve always been a big fan of Windows Media Player. It’s not the fastest program in the world, but it’s a Ferrari compared to ITunes, at least on Windows. I’ve never really felt the need to look into fancier third party media managers. Until now.
Here’s how I listen to music on my PC. I skim through my library picking different tunes from different albums and build a playlist on the fly. Then, if a song comes on and I decide I would like to listen to more songs from that album or artist I just click “Find In Library” and jump to the album.
Except, that feature was removed in Windows Media Player 12. Seriously? I can’t imagine the thinking behind removing that feature. “No one uses that, I mean they know what they are playing, right?” I swear, sometimes it seems like no one at Microsoft actually eats their own dog food.
I’ve tried to live without the feature, but it’s incredibly annoying. I can search for the song in the library manually, but it rubs me the wrong way that I have to. Why am I searching for a song that you’re already playing? Right click, “find in library” worked perfectly.
I guess it’s time for me to start looking for a new media player. Maybe Media Monkey?
Sarah and I got super crafty and actually finished our costumes this year. I tried to be a Marshall amp last year, but I waited until the day of to actually start working on my costume. I ran out of spray paint before I could finish the costume and the local art supply store closed two minutes before I got to there door. They were unwilling to help me, so last year I was one of the lame people who didn’t have a costume.
This year, I was proactive enough to start working on my costume a whole day early! Go me.
Cardboard, spray paint, some really cheap mesh that I spray painted silver and Marshall logos printed on paper.
Sarah went as an octopus. I wasn’t very sanguine about the idea when Sarah originally shared it with me, but I really enjoyed the finished product. She even got some nice compliments on her costume, although lots of people seemed to think she was a squid.
All in all, we had a great weekend, drank lots of booze, danced for hours both nights and got to share our craftiness with the world. I hope you had fun, too.